All posts by: "Inn Keeper"

We started something new this week and hope you will enjoy this weekly Facebook Live video Wednesdays at noon with Inn Keeper, Wendy Lynam, from the Swamp Rabbit Inn & Properties. Wendy will talk with special guests, take field trips around the area, and introduce you to the people and places that make Greenville an exceptional place to visit and live.

This week on our very first video Wendy chats with Sarah Polite aka NYC Foodie Finder about her very first visit to Greenville, SC and then her decision to come back to Greenville … and STAY!! Sarah used to work at the Dr. Oz Show in NYC. We also catch up with Sarah and hear about her recent assignment. She just returned from a special three month assignment at Hilton Head Health, a wellness resort about four hours from Greenville. Watch the video below and tune in each week live on Facebook or subscribe to get the videos delivered to your inbox.

We love your comments and suggestions for future videos and stay tuned for more contests and giveaways!

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Here is the Swamp Rabbit Inn’s IKEA story … Before I moved to Greenville, SC, I had lived three miles from IKEA in Oak Brook, IL but had never stepped foot in an IKEA. That changed when I decided to open a bike friendly inn in downtown Greenville, SC in 2014. I had just purchased a six bedroom house in the West End of Greenville that had been used as commercial office space. I liked the location two blocks off Main Street and knew the area had potential, but it was still a bit dodgy.

Before It Was the Swamp Rabbit Inn

I stood on the front porch after I had the property under contract and looked across the street and saw people riding bikes on the Swamp Rabbit Trail, a 20+ mile paved bike trail connecting Greenville and Travelers Rest, SC. The idea came to me at that moment to open a bike friendly inn and call it the Swamp Rabbit Inn. That is how the story began and now here is how my obsession with IKEA design began…

It was a snowy Sunday, rare for Greenville, and I was sitting at my kitchen island in my jammies sipping coffee, paging through the IKEA catalogs I had brought back from my initial, tire kicking visit to IKEA in Charlotte, NC. I was looking for a low cost, high impact, durable solution to furnishing and entire six room inn so I decided to drive to the IKEA in Charlotte, NC the week before to see if the quality of the furniture would work for my new project. I was overwhelmed on my first visit but also sold on the design and quality. As I was paging through the catalogs, snowed in, I decided to start cutting out my favorite things and began putting the cuttings together to form vision boards for the guest rooms.

A theme was emerging from the patterns of the linens, rugs and pillows I chose – an animal theme. I decide to name the six rooms at the Swamp Rabbit Inn the Moose, Owl, Double Owl, Chicken, Goat and Sheep Rooms based on the IKEA furnishings I chose.

By the time I was finished with my guest room vision boards, lost in the flow, I looked up and it was 3:00. The snow had melted and I had just enough time to drive to IKEA Charlotte and put in my order. I had all the item numbers, quantities and colors written down. I found the business section of IKEA and handed them my list of items and they started entering my order and I left the store two hours later with a delivery date.

(👀 at the gallery below to see how the finished rooms turned out!)

Owl Room

Moose Room

Double Owl Room

Goat Room

Sheep Room

Chicken Room

I loved the look so much I decided to furnish all the common areas and the kitchen in IKEA as well. As you may or may not know, IKEA mostly ships unassembled, flat in boxes. At one point I had floor to ceiling boxes in the living room and dining room of the inn. Just a little overwhelming!!

Great Friends Helped Assemble

IKEA Boxes Floor to Ceiling

All IKEA Furnishings

IKEA In All the Rooms

More IKEA

The Making of an Inn

Thank God for good friends and co workers who helped me assemble everything piece by piece and transform an a dull, commercial office building into a fresh, funky, modern, bike friendly inn two blocks from Main Street and two blocks from the Swamp Rabbit Trail.

Swamp Rabbit Inn – Greenville, SC

Dining Room

Common Areas

Fresh and Funky With IKEA

Living Room

Lounge Area

Community Kitchen

Wendy Lynam – Owner Swamp Rabbit Inn

Since that first order I have been back several times always armed with my list, doing the prep work ahead of time. I have furnished two inns and six vacation rentals entirely in IKEA. I would describe the results as funky and functional!

I still smile when I walk into the original Swamp Rabbit Inn and I am amazed at how it all came together and wonder how the ideas came to me. It really just flowed. IKEA has been an important part of our brand, helping us carve out our niche as a hotel alternative, DIYBNB, home away from home for our guests.

Thank you, Ingvar Kamprad, for your vision and great design. You have made great design affordable and helped this small business delight it’s guests with a fun and funky vibe! Your legacy lives and continues to be enjoyed at the Swamp Rabbit Inn & Properties! #bikeinnbikeout #BIKEA

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National Plan For Vacation Day – The Secret to Maximizing Your Vacation Time This Year

By Wendy Lynam, Inn Keeper, Swamp Rabbit Inn and Properties, Inc.

January 30, 2018

“So much to do, so little time.” While the phrase may sound like it perfectly describes our lives, research shows there actually is time.

Americans universally say that vacation days are important to them, yet 54 percent of workers aren’t using their hard-earned vacation time. Project: Time Off research found that workers are taking nearly a full week less of vacation than we did in 2000, resulting in a stockpile of 600 million unused vacation days.

The secret to achieving your travel goals this year, while maintaining your excellent employee status, is planning. Planning is the most important step in making vacation possible and, according to Project: Time Off, a majority (52%) of workers who set aside time each year to plan for travel take all their time off, compared to just 40 percent of non-planners. Planners also tend to take longer vacations: While three-in-four (75%) planners take a week or more at a time, non-planners take significantly fewer days—zero to three—than planners at once (42% to 18%).

The benefits of planning extend beyond days spent away from the office for rest and rejuvenation. Planners report greater happiness than non-planners with their relationships, health and well-being, company, and job. Their bosses are probably happier, too, since they’re in the loop on when you’re going to be out and can prepare accordingly.

What are you waiting for? It’s time to take back your calendar and put vacation at the top of your list of priorities. Planning for vacation can be achieved in three simple steps:

Determine how much time off you earn and identify the vacation policies at your workplace.

Get to dreaming! How do you want to spend your time off this year?

Plan out your days with Project: Time Off’s vacation planning tool and share with your manager, your colleagues, spouse—everyone!

This year, don’t let your vacation days be part of a statistic. Put the fear of missing out behind you and turn your bucket list into a to-do list by starting to plan now.

Need some ideas?

Stay at the Swamp Rabbit Inn in downtown Greenville, SC or downtown Travelers Rest, SC and ride the Swamp Rabbit Trail, a 22 mile paved bike trail. We rent bikes on site and even made a video to show you our favorite stops along the trail. Watch below:

After you are done with your bike ride stroll on down the lively Main Streets in both Travelers Rest or Greenville. Take in a Greenville Drive baseball game, hike the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains or indulge your palette at the MANY great restaurants in both towns connected by bike trail. Book your stay now! #bikeinnbikeout

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We were so thrilled to be featured in the Washington Post recently in an article about visiting Greenville, SC. We had a great time riding the Swamp Rabbit Trail with reporter Dina Mishev and discussing all the great cycling routes in the Upstate of South Carolina, not to mention all of our delicious restaurants and more. So many reasons to plan your trip to Greenville, SC!

GREENVILLE I’ve never fallen in love with a place as quickly as I did with Greenville. This was a surprise, because I arrived in South Carolina with low expectations. In the late ’80s and early ’90s, I spent most childhood school vacations and several weeks each summer visiting grandparents who lived elsewhere in the Palmetto State.

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This year’s Swamp Rabbit Music Fest, our second annual event, was an absolute success. In anticipation of the growth of the event, and to highlight our newest property, we moved the music festival to Travelers Rest. It was the best decision we ever made to host the Swamp Rabbit Music Fest at the Swamp Rabbit Inn in downtown Travelers Rest. Our newest property features ample free onsite and adjacent parking, easy access to downtown Travelers Rest and the Swamp Rabbit Trail.

This year’s Swamp Rabbit Music Fest grew in both attendance and participating musicians and vendors. Local Green did not disappoint by lining up participating bands from the region to suit every music lovers’ taste. As the Inn owner, my favorite moment was when my daughter, Mary, took the stage to sing a rendition of “I’m Yours” and showcase the guitar and vocal skills she has been so diligently working on. If any of you saw me shed a tear during Mary’s performance, call it what you will, but this is one proud Mama!

We are especially grateful to the food trucks who supported the Swamp Rabbit Music Fest, and the on site vendors who added that extra touch to our event. We are especially grateful to Marley Guitars, our festival sponsor, a local maker of custom guitars in Dacusville, South Carolina. This year we were fortunate to have the team from ITK Upstate as our media partner for the Swamp Rabbit Music Fest. ITK Upstate was integral in helping us promote the music fest to the Upstate and their on site photo booth at the event was a favorite with attendees. We could not have increased our attendance without their partnership.

The 2017 Swamp Rabbit Music Fest was an absolute success. Thanks to the collaboration of the artists, food trucks, vendors and media, we were able to donate $2,500 to Feed & Seed. Feed & Seed is working to bring the local food movement to the Upstate, and eliminate food deserts in our community. The work that Feed & Seed does is very close to our heart and we are honored to give back with the proceeds from our event.

This year’s event was such a success we are already planning for the 2018 Swamp Rabbit Music Fest. Mark your calendars for September 8, 2018, and buy your tickets now. We’ll see you there at Greenville’s best local, live music festival!

Today we released our Swamp Rabbit Trail map and video highlighting our favorite stops along the trail which stretches from Greenville, SC to Travelers Rest, SC.

Greenville, SC named one of the best places to visit and one of the best cycling cities in America. Come ride the Swamp Rabbit Trail and stop at the many restaurants, breweries, shops along the way and stay in our bike friendly inns along the trail. We have an 8 room inn in downtown Travelers Rest, SC and a 6 room inn in downtown Greenville, SC right on the Swamp Rabbit Trail.

Swamp Rabbit Inn, Travelers Rest, SC

Swamp Rabbit Inn – Greenville, SC

The Swamp Rabbit Inn and Properties has two inns, one in downtown Greenville, SC and one in downtown Travelers Rest, SC, close to Furman University and at the base of some of the best road cycling and mountain biking in the Upstate of South Carolina.

The Swamp Rabbit Trail is a 20+ mile paved greenway trail connecting Greenville, SC to Travelers Rest, SC. It is mostly flat and perfect for all levels of cyclists. Bring your bike or rent a bike from the Bike Shed at the Swamp Rabbit Inn in downtown Greenville, SC. Watch our tour of the trail below as we take you into some of our favorite stops along the way!

We welcome you and your bike into our IKEA adorned European style inns walking distance to downtown Greenville, SC and downtown Travelers Rest, SC. After a great day of cycling grab a delicious dinner, craft beer, glass of wine or cocktail just out the front door of either Swamp Rabbit Inn.

The Sheep Room

The Goat Room

Chicken Room

The Double Owl Room

The Moose Room

The Owl Room

Swamp Rabbit Inn Greenville, SC

The Bike Shed

The Azalea Room – Second Floor Main House

The Camellia Room – Second Floor Main House

Swamp Rabbit Inn TR

Swamp Rabbit Inn TR

We cater to cyclists with bike storage in the rooms and a trail map in each room. Grab a copy of “Cycling Greenville” written by inn keeper, Wendy Lynam, before your visit to plan your rides.

You can cycle year round in the Upstate of South Carolina. Whether you like riding on the trail, climbing mountains and rolling down country roads or shredding mountain bike trails, this area has it all right out our front door. Book your bike getaway at http://www.swamprabbitinn.com and have a “Perfect Day in Greenville” on the Swamp Rabbit Trail!

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The second annual Swamp Rabbit Music Festival is quickly approaching this weekend and we have a lot of promotion going on to build excitement. Check out this appearance on WYFF this past weekend with Myra Ruiz where we cover everything from Kringle to Feed and Seed and biking on the Swamp Rabbit Trail.

So many reasons to visit Greenville, SC and Travelers Rest and we look forward to welcoming everyone into our new inn in Travelers Rest for our first event at the new location.

Bring your blankets and chairs and kick back for some great music, food and beverages under the stars at the Swamp Rabbit Inn TR! Get your tickets here.

Local Green and Swamp Rabbit Inn and Properties are joining forces to throw a music festival combining area musicians and original songs at the new Swamp Rabbit Inn TR, located in downtown Travelers Rest at 426 S. Main Street, Travelers Rest, SC 29690. The music festival will be held on September 9 from 5pm – 10pm and will feature local songwriters performing their original work throughout the day. There will be food trucks, craft beer and wine and local vendors and makers. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door and $5 for students. Free parking is available on site and attendees are encouraged to bike up to the event on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Local Green musicians and Feed & Seed a non-profit organized to facilitate the local food movement.

Local Green is a homegrown organization bringing together upstate musicians, songwriters, artisans, culinary adventurers, and visual artists. The collective was founded by musicians based in Greenville, SC and Asheville, NC. Now entering its third year, Local Green strives to support earnest and unique artists from the upstate, Asheville, and Charleston areas. From singer-songwriters playing their own, original material to large-ensemble dance parties, from local festivals to an ongoing podcast series, Local Green aims to highlight some of the musical talent active in the region. This largely informal network helps to assist and support its member artists as they develop their musical and personal selves.

Swamp Rabbit Inn and Properties started with the flagship six bedroom inn at 1 Logan Street in downtown Greenville, SC and has expanded opening the Swamp Rabbit Inn TR in March of 2017 and six other properties along the Swamp Rabbit Trail offering short term lodging options and a local experience. Owner, Wendy Lynam, shares a love of live music and and has collaborated with several Local Green musicians at the Truck Inn Tuesday events offered at the Swamp Rabbit Inn. The Swamp Rabbit Inn TR is a great location for individual room rentals and larger groups as it offers plenty of parking and a pool. Our new location is perfect for Furman families and travelers wanting a hip mountain town stay close to the best cycling and hiking in the Upstate. “We like to showcase our other properties by inviting the public into our space with fun events like the Swamp Rabbit Music Fest” Lynam explains.

Music starts at 5:00 PM and will feature short, but energetic sets by these local musicians:

This is a family friendly, pet friendly event and will go on rain or shine! Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs and set up on the front lawn to hang out and listen to some great local musicians all day and into the night. Parking at United Bank, street parking and at Trailblazer Park.

For the first time in the rich and storied history of this series (See: hyperbolic), there isn’t a singular focus on any specific city for this particular story. I spent a week in a town called Travelers Rest, South Carolina, a community of roughly 5,000 souls located in Greenville County.

Book your stay at any of our properties in Greenville or Travelers Rest, SC #bikeinnbikeout

Thanks to @Discover_SC for their visit to the Swamp Rabbit Inn in downtown Greenville, SC and for the great feature article on their website www.discoversouthcarolina.com. We have some beautiful parks, trails, beaches and destinations in our beautiful state of South Carolina and we are so honored to be featured on their site! Check out the article here and come visit Greenville and book your stay at one of our properties today! #bikeinnbikeout